The Nationals, trying to get turned around after a woeful start, will look for their season-high fourth straight win on Thursday when they open a four-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are making their first trip to Washington's new ballpark.
Washington will give the ball to Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.31 ERA) on Thursday. Perez has looked good in his last three starts although he hasn't picked up a win, working six innings each time while allowing just four earned runs total.
Zach Duke (0-2, 5.34) will be looking to rebound from a pair of rough starts for the Pirates. The left-hander has allowed 11 runs in 10 innings in his last two outings.
Duke is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two career starts in Washington.
Chad Cordero won't need surgery on his injured right shoulder. But he will miss at least four to six weeks, throwing a significant wrench into the Nationals' plans.
Cordero tore the latissimus dorsi muscle behind his shoulder while pitching in the ninth inning of Tuesday night's win over the Braves. The 26-year-old closer will be placed on the disabled list in the next day or two and won't be allowed to throw a ball for at least a couple of weeks.
"It could be a lot longer and I could be having surgery," he said. "So for me, I'm looking at it as a positive that I'm not having surgery."
This injury comes after Cordero battled shoulder tendinitis through the season's first month, an injury that prevented him from consistently throwing his fastball at speeds greater than 82 mph. Perhaps trying to compensate for his lack of velocity, Cordero put added strain on other muscles in his arm and back and wound up hurting himself on his 13th pitch Tuesday.
With Cordero sidelined until June or July, Jon Rauch (who has converted five of seven saves so far) slides up from his usual setup role to take over as closer. Luis Ayala will become the primary eighth-inning reliever, with help from Saul Rivera.
"He'll adjust," manager Manny Acta said of Rauch. "He does a good job, we think. He has enough to do that type of job. He's got a good repertoire, about four pitches, and he can command the four of them, so Jon will be OK. He'll do a good job."
NATIONALS 3, BRAVES 2 (12 innings): Felipe Lopez's bases-loaded single over a drawn-in outfield capped a wild rally and gave Washington its fifth win in six games. Down 2-1 entering the bottom of the 12th, the Nationals came back to tie on two walks, an infield single and an error by Atlanta reliever Manny Acosta. Lopez then delivered the game-winner, lofting Buddy Carlyle's first pitch over left fielder Gregor Blanco's head and setting off a celebration at Nationals Park.
--1B Dmitri Young still hasn't made progress from his lower back injury, and the Nationals now may send him to the Mayo Clinic for further treatment. "We just can't get him over the hump," GM Jim Bowden said. "So he's going to continue to get medical opinions until we find somebody who can fix him." There remains no timetable for Young's return.
--RHP Chad Cordero tore the latissimus dorsi muscle behind his right shoulder during Tuesday night's game against the Braves and will miss at least four to six weeks. Cordero, who had been throwing with significantly decreased velocity while dealing with shoulder tendinitis, believes he was trying to overcompensate and as a result tore the lat muscle. An MRI taken Wednesday confirmed there is no damage to the shoulder and Cordero won't need surgery, so the closer is hopeful he can return to his normal form before the All-Star break. "As long as I stay doing everything that the trainers want me to do and the coaches want me to do, I should be back hopefully to my old self pretty quick once I come off the DL," he said. "It's not going to be right away. But if I come off the DL in mid-June, then maybe in early July I should hopefully be back to my old self." RHP Jon Rauch, who has converted five of seven save opportunities this season, will take over as closer until Cordero returns.
--3B Ryan Zimmerman became the Nationals' career home run leader Tuesday night when he hit his 47th big-league homer. OF Alfonso Soriano held the previous record with 46 (all coming in 2006). 1B Nick Johnson trails Zimmerman with 42 homers. The Nationals began play in Washington in 2005.
--C Paul Lo Duca played his second game of a rehab assignment with Class A Potomac (Woodbridge, Va.) on Wednesday night, and the Nationals may decide to activate the veteran catcher off the disabled list. Lo Duca, out since April 13 with a bruised right hand, is a combined 0-for-5 with two walks for Potomac. "We'll ... just keep evaluating until he's ready," GM Jim Bowden said. "But certainly his bat's missed. He's a .280 to .300 hitter who would help our offense."
--RHP Shawn Hill enjoyed his best start of the season Wednesday against the Braves, allowing one run and four hits over eight sterling innings. Hill, who opened the season on the disabled list with a sore forearm, has been slowly pushing himself back to the point where he can pitch deep into games. He only went five innings in each of his first two starts this month but was so efficient Wednesday he managed to finish the eighth with only 94 pitches. Hill received no decision in the game, though, because the score was tied 1-1 when he was removed for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth.
BY THE NUMBERS: .392 -- Nick Johnson's on-base percentage, through April 27, despite a .216 batting average. Johnson had drawn a team-high 20 walks and had twice been hit by a pitch.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It felt like I was running in the clouds. It was unbelievable. I've never had that experience." -- C Wil Nieves, on his walk-off homer April 25 against the Cubs, the first homer of his big-league career.